Spark arrestors have been used in a plurality of technologies including steam engines, internal combustion engines, building flues or chimneys, in various types of electrical equipment, and on automotive/motor vehicle exhaust equipment. They also find use in welding technologies.
A spark arrestor is any device which prevents the emission of flammable debris from reaching combustion sources. Spark arrestors are used for a plurality of reasons, for example, they may play a critical role in the prevention of dust collection, the prevention of wildland fires and the prevention of the ignition of explosive atmospheres. These safety features in some instance mean that their use is required by law in many jurisdictions worldwide.
Spark Traps/Arrestors in general are designed to swirl and confuse the air inside, for example, duct work and/or a chamber in order that the spark has time to extinguish. It is called the introduction of a ‘tortured path’. In some situations, the swirling air via the wind that blows adds oxygen to the ember, which serves to more rapidly extinguish the spark. This is similar to blowing on a coal, which increases the burning thereby shortening the life of the ember.
The currently existing spark traps offer several methods of being able to work. Some have a series of vanes that swirl the air inside the enlarged chamber. Others may possess a cone in the duct to divert air. Others have proposed an arrangement where the outlet pipe is extended into the duct so that the air and material do a series of u-turns before the air exits the chamber. All of these in some form or other create a tortured path. However, these devices sometimes fail to adequately serve as a spark arrestor. In situations where a spark/ember is large, it may be desired to have a device that keeps the spark/ember in the spark trap/arrestor for longer periods of time. For example, with the system that uses vanes, the systems that are currently on the market are not as effective an larger/higher mass particles that burn longer because the air is exhausted directly out the other side, often allowing the spark to pass from one side of the arrestor to the other. Systems that use a cone tend to constrict the air too much because these systems generally have a smaller inlet duct, which allows the spark/ember to stay alight too long due to inadequate ventilation/oxygen in the system. Systems, which contain vanes tend to also release the exhaust too rapidly. Moreover, most of the currently existing systems do not allow for easy cleaning of the system, which means that combustible materials may build up in the system. If an ember or spark ignites the combustible material one may got an explosion (for example, an exhaust system backfire). The present invention addresses these drawbacks.